Middle-of-the-road perspectives

The Federal Government Has Become Dysfunctional And Ineffective

Something is terribly wrong with America and our system of government. The nation is being torn apart by the radical left and legislative extremists on both sides of the aisle.

Many issues affecting the U.S. have become sacrosanct, and political correctness has replaced common sense and fairness. Every group other than white males has a chip on their shoulder. Their advocates lurk in the weeds waiting for anyone to make a false move or an unacceptable comment.

Congress best exemplifies the schism separating Americans. This should not come as a surprise as our lawmakers are supposed to represent the majority of voters in their voting districts. And so most big states are populated with large minority groups that are predominately liberal minded while small states and rural areas are more conservative.

There is nothing wrong with political diversity if both sides have the freedom to express their preferences without animosity from the opposition. For centuries our country prospered because perspectives were welcomed at every level of government. Our leaders then debated and decided what proposals would become law.

Unfortunately the system has broken down completely. Lawmakers at the federal level are unable to do their jobs because compromise is no longer an option. Some people say that a do-nothing Congress is a good thing because no legislation is better than bad legislation. But there are other aspects of government that need immediate attention.

Infrastructure must be modernized. The military must remain strong to combat threats that seem to grow every day from terrorists and megalomaniacal leaders. Affordable and effective health care must be available enabling our citizens to live long and productive lives. All these things and so much more are funded by annual budgets, which can no longer be approved by Congress because of partisan politics.

Unlike any other time in recent history the president of the U.S. is hamstrung by the opposition, and more recently by members of his own party. It is nearly impossible to enact new laws because the opposition’s mission is to bring down a duly elected president. It makes no difference if proposals benefit the country. The response of the opposition is always no.

The opposition party has completely abandoned good government in which both sides present their vision of America. No new ideas come from the other side. This group exclusively conspires to obstruct and embarrass the president.

For seven long years the former president did many things to infuriate his opponents. He ignored them even after they assumed the power to restrict his actions. (Note: Obama unconstitutionally circumvented Congress by issuing mandates.) A wiser man or woman would have enabled our lawmakers to do their job. But no, the president treated his foils with scorn because their vision of America was different than his. This resulted in one of the least productive presidential administrations in recent history.

The most important co-conspirator with the political opposition in America is the national press. Over the years the press’ image of itself has grown. It believes that current events and governmental decisions are not understandable to the average American. They think the latter is stupid and uninformed. Newspapers have transformed themselves from a source of facts to ideological purveyors of the news in the form of personal perspectives by smug, pseudo-intellectual journalists. Entire newspapers have become a gigantic opinion pieces.

The tradition in most of the media is to be more liberal. This suits the high and mighty self-image of journalists. Fact is, most of these people have overstepped their bounds and hide behind the skirt of the Constitution every time they are challenged or criticized.

The media is not infallible (consider the 2016 Election), and they are not our mentors. Everyone would be better serve if journalists kept their opinions to themselves and allowed Americans to make up their own minds. The onslaught perpetrated by the press since the recent election is nothing less than shameful.

What can be done to change the status quo? Frankly it is difficult to see any light at the end of this tunnel. The world is so demanding and dangerous that a president does not have the time to stroke the massive egos of members of Congress. He must deal with domestic and international events that endanger our very existence every day. And he must do it while liberals are calling for his impeachment and making it impossible to implement his agenda.

The only thing we can hope for is the electoral defeat of the most partisan leaders and lawmakers in Washington. The current residents of the Senate and House, the ones with the lowest approval ratings in history, must be replaced very soon for the benefit our republic.